| The following forms of Urdu poetry are known, | | | | lines. The most well known poet of this style |
| some more popular than others:fard | | | | of writing was Maulana Altaf Husain Hali.naat |
| | | | |
| Gazalhamdhazalhijvmadahmanqabatmarsiiyamasna | | | | A poem written in praise of the holy |
| iimunaajaatmusaddasnaatnazmqasiidaaqataaqavaa | | | | Prophet.nazm |
| lliirubaayiisalaamsehraavaasoKhtfard | | | | |
| | | | In a broad sense, nazm is a term used to |
| A composition consisting of only one sher. | | | | define all kinds of Urdu poetry which do not |
| | | | fall into any other category. However, in a |
| Gazal (pronounced ?guzzle?) | | | | literary sense, a nazm is a well organized, |
| | | | logically evolving poem where each individual |
| Ghazal is a collection of couplets (shers or | | | | verse serves the need of the central concept |
| ashaar) which follow the rules of 'matla', | | | | or theme of the poem. Though a nazm is |
| 'maqta', 'bahar', 'qafiya' and 'radeef'. The | | | | traditionally written in rhymed verse, there |
| couplets are complete in themselves. All the | | | | are many examples of nazms written in |
| couplets of a ghazal must be of the same | | | | unrhymed verse, or even in free |
| bahar, end in the same words (radeef) and | | | | verse.qasiidaa (pronounced ?quh-see-daa?) |
| have the same rhyming pattern (qaafiyaa). | | | | |
| Every ghazal MUST have a matla. A ghazal may | | | | A panygeric, or poem written in praise of a |
| or may not have a maqta but if it does, it | | | | king or a nobleman, or a benefactor. As in a |
| has to be the last sher of the ghazal. | | | | ghazal, the opening couplet of a qasida, is a |
| | | | rhyming couplet, and its rhyme is repeated in |
| Ghazals which do not have a radeef are called | | | | the second line of each succeeding verse. The |
| Gair-muraddaf ghazals. In such cases, the | | | | opening part of the qasida, where the poet |
| rule of qafiya is strictly followed. These | | | | may talk in general about love and beauty, |
| type of ghazals are very rare. Ghazals with | | | | man or nature, life or death, is called the |
| the same radeef are called ham-radeef | | | | 'tashbib' or 'tamheed'. |
| ghazals.hamd | | | | |
| | | | Interestingly, the ghazal has evolved from |
| Poem written in praise of God.hazal | | | | the qasida. Over time, the tashbib got |
| | | | detached and developed into what we today |
| Humourous poetry, also known as 'mazaahiyaa' | | | | know as Gazal. A qasida is usually quite |
| or 'mazaakiyaa' shaayari. Some examples of | | | | long, sometimes running into mor than a 100 |
| humourous Urdu poetry can be viewed here.hijv | | | | couplets. A Gazal is seldom more than 12 |
| | | | couplets long, averaging about 7 |
| A satirical poem written to condemn or abuse | | | | couplets.qataa |
| a person. This type of poetry is considered | | | | |
| inferior and generally avoided by reputed | | | | A poem consisting of four lines, in the form |
| poets. The opposite of a hijv is a madah | | | | of two shers. However, unlike shers in a |
| which is written in praise of patrons.madah | | | | ghazal, the subject of the two shers is the |
| | | | same. It is believed that the qataa was |
| Poem written in praise of royalty, patrons, | | | | invented for occasions when poets felt that |
| etc.manqabat | | | | they were unable to express their thoughts |
| | | | completely and satisfactorily in a single |
| A poem written in praise of members of the | | | | sher.qavaalii |
| family of the holy Prophet.marsiiyaa | | | | |
| (muhr-see-yaa) | | | | Traditionally a devotional song expressing |
| | | | love and oneness with God sung by a group of |
| An elegy written to mourn the death of a | | | | people to the accompaniment of musical |
| great man or a dearly loved person. In its | | | | instruments. Nowadays, qawaallis cover |
| stricter sense, traditionally accepted in | | | | popular topics like love and |
| Urdu, a marsiya is an elegy written | | | | wine.rubaayii(pronounced ?ru-baa-ee?) |
| specifically in honour of the martyrdom of | | | | |
| Hazrat Imam Husain and his comrades at | | | | A self-sufficient quartrain, rhyming (a, a, |
| Karbala. It describes the battle fought on | | | | b, a) and dealing generally with a single |
| the plains of Karbala by Hazrat Imam Husain | | | | idea, which is customarily introduced and |
| against the army of Yazid. The most well | | | | developed with the aid of similes in the |
| known writers of Marsiya in Urdu are Mir | | | | first three lines, and concluded, with |
| baber Ali Anees and Salamat Ali Dabir. | | | | concentrated effort and impact, in the fourth |
| Sub-parts of the marsiya are called Nauha and | | | | line.The most well known rubaayis in Persian |
| Soz.masnavii(pronounced ?mus-na-vee?) | | | | were written by Omar Khayyam. In Urdu, some |
| | | | of the most well known practitioners of this |
| A long narrative poem - much longer than the | | | | form were Firaq, Josh and Yagna Yaas |
| ghazal - embodying religious, romantic or | | | | Changezi.salaam |
| didatic stories. It is written in rhyming | | | | |
| couplets, with each couplet having a | | | | A salutory poem written in praise of the holy |
| different rhyme and radeef. The most famous | | | | Prophet. It can also be a poem describing the |
| masnavis are Masnavi-e-Rumi in Persian, Shah | | | | incidents of Karbala. It is recited standing |
| Namah of Firdausi, and Zehar-e-Ishq in | | | | up.sehraa |
| Urdu.munaajaat | | | | |
| | | | A song sung at the time of tying the seharaa |
| A lyrical poem written as a prayer to | | | | during the wedding ceremony. It is usually in |
| God.musaddas | | | | praise of the bride/groom and their |
| | | | relatives. |
| A poem in which each unit consists of 6 | | | | |